Perseverance: The Determination of the Bodhisattva

By Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Gordon McDougall

Dive deep into perseverance, one of the core practices of the bodhisattvas, with beloved teacher Lama Zopa Rinpoche as a guide.

Awakening depends on fortitude;
because, without fortitude there is no merit,
as there is no movement without wind.
—Shantideva, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life

Perseverance, or virya, is also translated as “energy,” “fortitude,” or “vigor.” One of the six perfections, or paramitas, it is one of the trainings of the bodhisattvas and a deeply necessary quality for the Buddhist path. But it’s far from the kind of head-down, stubborn determination the name could imply; instead, it’s joyful energy that enables us to practice.

Rinpoche’s commentary is structured around the fifth and seventh chapters of the beloved Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by the eighth-century philosopher-poet Shantideva. Interweaving his teaching with Shantideva’s verses, Rinpoche elucidates this prerequisite for enlightenment, explaining what it is and how to cultivate it: guard your mind, gather virtue, work for others—and find incredible joy in these things.

“When we have perseverance, we will have no obstacles, which means obstacles to any happiness, especially to ultimate happiness, the freedom from the oceans of samsaric suffering, and most importantly to peerless happiness, the state of the omniscience that is enlightenment.”
—Lama Zopa Rinpoche

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Release date: Jan 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9781614299103

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche was one of the most internationally renowned masters of Tibetan Buddhism, working and teaching ceaselessly on almost every continent. He was the spiritual director and cofounder of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an international network of Buddhist projects, including monasteries in six countries and meditation centers in over thirty; health and nutrition clinics, and clinics specializing in the treatment of leprosy and polio; as well as hospices, schools, publishing activities, and prison outreach projects worldwide. He passed away in 2023.

Book preview

THE WISDOM CULTURE SERIES

The Wisdom Culture Series is published by Wisdom Publications in association with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). Under the guidance of the late Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the series provides English-language readers with key works for the study and cultivation of the Mahayana Buddhist path, especially works of masters within the lineage of Lama Tsongkhapa and the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism. Wisdom culture, an expression frequently used by Lama Yeshe, is a Dharma culture rooted in wisdom and compassion. The Wisdom Culture Series is intended to support this vision by transmitting the timeless wisdom of the Dharma through authoritative and accessible publications.

Volumes:

The Middle-Length Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Tsongkhapa

The Power of Mantra, Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The Swift Path, Paṇchen Losang Yeshé

Perseverance, Lama Zopa Rinpoche

More volumes to come!

Awakening depends on fortitude; because, without fortitude there is no merit, as there is no movement without wind.

—Shantideva, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life

Perseverance, or virya, is also translated as fortitude, energy, or enthusiasm. One of the six perfections, or paramitas, it is one of the trainings of the bodhisattvas and a deeply necessary quality for the Buddhist path. But it’s far from the kind of head-down, stubborn determination the name could imply; instead, it’s joyful energy that enables us to practice.

Rinpoche’s teachings are structured around the fifth and seventh chapters of the beloved Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by the eighth-century philosopher-poet Shantideva. Interweaving his teaching with Shantideva’s verses, Rinpoche elucidates this prerequisite for enlightenment, explaining what it is and how to cultivate it: guard your mind, gather virtue, work for others—and find incredible joy in these things.

When we have perseverance, we will have no obstacles, which means obstacles to any happiness, especially to ultimate happiness, the freedom from the oceans of samsaric suffering, and most importantly to peerless happiness, the state of the omniscience that is enlightenment.

—Lama Zopa Rinpoche

CONTENTS

Editor’s Preface

Introduction: Chapter 7, Verses 1–2a

Perseverance Aids All the Other Perfections

We Need Perseverance on the Whole Path

Compassion Gives Life Meaning

1. Guarding the Mind: Chapter 5, Verses 1–33

Armor-like Perseverance

The Dangers of an Uncontrolled Mind

The Mind Is the Basis of All Six Perfections

The Need for Awareness

2. The Energy of Working for Others

The Perseverance of Gathering Virtue

The Perseverance of Acting for the Welfare of Others

3. Overcoming Laziness: Chapter 7, Verses 2b–15

The Three Types of Laziness

The Laziness of Procrastination

The Laziness of Attachment to Samsaric Activities

The Laziness of Discouragement

4. Developing Perseverance: Chapter 7, Verses 16–30

The Minds Needed for Perseverance

The Ability to Endure Difficulties

Bodhisattvas Happily Take On Suffering for Others

5. The Four Supports: Chapter 7, Verses 31–75

The Armies of Effort

Zeal

Resolve

Rejoicing

Relinquishment

Afterword: Saving the Child from the Fire

Glossary

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

EDITOR’S PREFACE

THIS BOOK is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s commentary on Shantideva’s verses from A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life on perseverance, the fourth of the six perfections. As the first book by Rinpoche to be produced since he died in April 2023, it is a very fitting teaching on what we most need to survive and flourish in this very troubled world. While Shantideva’s words come from about 1300 years ago, the message is still so pertinent today.

In the many decades Rinpoche guided us utterly selflessly, he personified the meaning of perseverance—joy in effort—ceaselessly, tirelessly (literally, he didn’t sleep), only ever showing us what we needed to know. Now more than ever before, we need to look beyond quick gratification to some deeper happiness. Rinpoche showed us quite clearly that ego-driven acquisition doesn’t make us happy. And we can easily see that on a global scale it is very quickly destroying this fragile planet.

As I edited this book, searching the files of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive for material from Rinpoche that matched Shantideva’s verses, so often Rinpoche would use a particular point to emphasize how we need to overcome our attachment to the samsaric pleasures of this life, what are called the eight worldly dharmas or worldly concerns. This is our big addiction and why this realm we live in is called the desire realm. Our senses constantly reach out for pleasurable objects: pleasurable sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and so forth. While chasing this dominates our life, we not only have no freedom to become a better person, we are also assuring ourselves (and our planet) great suffering in the future.

Breaking this addiction is not easy. We need great determination, great perseverance. This is the subject of Shantideva’s seventh chapter, where he explores in detail the effort we need to make in order to move from a selfish nonvirtuous attitude to one that serves others.

As I compiled the book, I noticed that the first type of perseverance in the classic texts, armor-like perseverance, was actually covered in Shantideva’s fifth chapter on guarding the mind, where he talks about the vital mental tools of mindfulness and awareness. I have therefore started this book with Rinpoche’s commentary on this subject, taking many of the verses from chapter five.

Of A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Rinpoche says, "The whole of Shantideva’s wonderful text is like an elaborated commentary on the lamrim. In the monasteries, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life is not used much as a text for debating, but students constantly refer back to it, quoting from it often. Many great teachers, such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, quote extensively from it for many different subjects. It is so practical that we can use whatever Shantideva says as everyday advice, showing us how to conduct our lives."

As I did with the book on the sixth chapter, Patience, I have tried to match Rinpoche’s teachings with the verses from Shantideva. As you will see, sometimes (as with the Patience book) the commentary on a section of verses does not always completely cover every point. I apologize for this. I suspect somewhere in Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive’s vast library there will be teachings that exactly match, but I have been unable to find them.

We have chosen to use the translation by Luis Gómez, from his Introduction to the Practice of the Bodhisattva (Wisdom Publications, forthcoming). With the publisher’s permission, we have changed his prose translation into verse, as that is how the text traditionally appears. Most other texts quoted have been cited.

I would like to thank everybody who contributed to this book, those at the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive and the many at Wisdom Publications, all of whom are an inspiration to work with, specifically Wisdom’s Laura Cunningham, as well as all the staff and volunteers who work for LYWA, painstakingly recording, transcribing, and archiving all of Lama Zopa’s courses.

I apologize for any errors found in this book; they are 100 percent mine. May this book inspire people to turn away from selfishness and self-indulgence and practice the Dharma as purely as they can, overcoming all obstacles with great joy and perseverance. May whatever merits gained from the creation of this book be dedicated to peace in this troubled world, to the long life, well-being, and fulfillment of the wishes of all our holy teachers, especially His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and to the flourishing of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition and of the Dharma throughout the world. And may Lama Zopa Rinpoche quickly return to guide us yet again. Rinpoche has given us everything we need, leaving nothing out. It is up to us now to put his precious teachings into action in the very core of our hearts.

Gordon McDougall

Bath, UK

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 7, Verses 1–2a

PERSEVERANCE AIDS ALL THE OTHER PERFECTIONS

7.1 One who practices patience in the above way should develop fortitude.

Awakening depends on fortitude;

because, without fortitude there is no merit,

as there is no movement without wind.

7.2a What is fortitude?

It is persevering effort in the cultivation of virtue.

Shantideva starts the seventh chapter of his Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by saying that we should develop not only patience, the subject of his sixth chapter, but also fortitude or perseverance, because enlightenment is impossible without it.

This perfection has many names. As well as fortitude, perseverance, or joyous perseverance, it can also be called enthusiasm or energy. In Sanskrit it is virya,¹ and in Tibetan it is tsöndrü.

What is perseverance? Whereas we can define laziness as the mind being happy following the delusions, such as desire and anger, perseverance is the complete opposite. Perseverance is the mind that finds joy in creating virtue. When we have perseverance, we are happy to meditate on renunciation, bodhichitta, or emptiness, on any of the subjects within the graduated path to enlightenment, the lamrim, or in fact on any subject within Buddhism. From the very beginning, it’s very important to distinguish between perseverance and its opposite, laziness.

It’s mentioned in the Madhyamaka² teachings that all good qualities follow from perseverance. The collections of merit and wisdom can be achieved only if we diligently practice perseverance, not just practicing for a short intense period and then stopping. Unless we practice continuously, our resolve to progress can become weaker and weaker and we are likely to stop our practice altogether.

There are two types of merit: the merit of wisdom and the merit of fortune or method. The merit of wisdom is the cause of the dharmakaya, a buddha’s holy mind; and the merit of fortune is the cause of rupakaya, a buddha’s holy body. Only by continual, diligent practice, only by perseverance, can we complete these two types of merit, achieve the dharmakaya and rupakaya—in other words, achieve buddhahood—and do perfect work for all sentient beings. Shantideva says that just as there can be no movement without wind, there can be no merit without perseverance.

To become enlightened, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha³ collected merit for three countless great eons, practicing all six perfections. He practiced charity, sacrificing his life for sentient beings, giving his eyes and limbs to other sentient beings, even giving his whole body, as in the story of the starving tiger and her cubs.⁴ He practiced in this way for so long in order to help us sentient beings.

For three countless great eons he practiced patience and morality, abstaining from creating any negative karma and holding the various levels of vows. And for those three countless great eons, he also practiced perseverance. In the Guru Puja, it says,

Even if I must remain for an ocean of eons in the fiery hells of avici

For the sake of even just one sentient being,

I seek your blessings to complete the perfection of enthusiasm,

That out of compassion untiringly strives for supreme enlightenment.⁵

There are numberless beings in each of the three realms—the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm—so the wish of this prayer is unbelievably huge. For the sake of even one sentient being, we wish to never to get upset, discouraged, or depressed, even if we have to endure the inexhaustible hot hell realm, the avici hell, which has the most intense suffering in the whole of samsara. The duration of the lifespan of a being in this hell is an intermediate eon.⁶ Because their body is one with the fire, like a log of wood that is completely aflame, a sentient being there can be differentiated only by their screaming. Here we are asking blessings to be able to complete the perfection of perseverance, where our determination is so strong we would willingly endure such suffering.

For three countless great eons the Buddha practiced perseverance, diligently working to attain each of the six perfections until he achieved full enlightenment for the sake of us sentient beings. Having attained enlightenment, he then revealed 84,000 teachings, collected in the hundred volumes of the Kangyur. When we enter a temple in a Tibetan monastery, we see so many scriptures on the altar and in the shelves. Besides the Buddha’s Kangyur teachings, there is the Tengyur, over two hundred volumes of commentaries by the great Indian and Tibetan yogis and pandits. It is very good to remember, when we see all these texts, that the Buddha taught the whole of the Dharma for us. That definitely inspires us to learn the Buddha’s teachings and similarly to study the great texts of the Indian and Tibetan masters, such as Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti, and Lama Tsongkhapa.

Knowing how the Buddha dedicated his life for three countless great eons for us, we must determine to practice the Dharma, to meditate and study, to live in the vows of the lay or ordained community, and to undergo whatever hardships arise. We need to remember that the hardships we may experience are nothing compared to what the Buddha had to endure for all those eons. In comparison, our greatest difficulty is sheer comfort.

In Heart Instructions of the Book of Kadam, Lama Atisha⁷ is quoted as saying,

Just as any crops can grow when the soil is fertile,

In a good heart all higher qualities arise as wished for.

Whatever you do must be enforced by the awakening mind.

So stated Atisha to the spiritual mentor Dromtönpa.

One whose mind is stable and diligent has no obstacles.

One who is versed in what is allowed and what is proscribed goes to liberation.

Thus, learning, discipline, and kindness must complement each other.

This is most important, said the most excellent lord.⁸

Lama Atisha starts with the example of the field. If it is well plowed and well cultivated, then whatever is planted there will grow well. In the same way, if we have a good heart, all our wishes will be attained. Everything we wish for will happen. When we have perseverance, we will have no obstacles, which means obstacles to any happiness, especially to ultimate happiness, the freedom from the oceans of samsaric suffering, and most importantly to peerless happiness, the state of the omniscience that is enlightenment. I myself am lazy, so nothing is happening, but those with perseverance have no major obstacles. Whatever they want to achieve can be achieved.

Investigating, learning, and knowing are so important. If we know the Dharma, we develop the wisdom to discriminate right from wrong in this life. Then we can abandon what is wrong and practice what is right and, because of that, achieve liberation. This is Yongzin Yeshé Gyaltsen’s advice from Heart Instructions of the Book of Kadam. We need perseverance, and we need to know what should be practiced and what should be abandoned. When we do, enlightenment is in our hands.

Since the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) started its Dharma centers many years ago, it has been incredibly beneficial, even though there have been unbelievable hardships, with many centers having no funds at all! Many started after people had attended the one-month meditation course at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. It was of such benefit to them that when they returned to their countries, their wish was to benefit the people there. They wanted as many people in their country as possible to gain the inner peace and happiness they had glimpsed, and to be totally free—not just from temporary, mundane concerns like stomachaches or even life-threatening diseases like cancer, but free from the oceans of samsaric suffering; they wanted to liberate them from suffering’s cause, karma, and delusions. This is the great service Kopan has been to the world. If the people who worked (and work) at those Dharma centers had not undergone many hardships, this would not have been possible.

WE NEED PERSEVERANCE ON THE WHOLE PATH

If it were totally in the hands of the buddhas, they wouldn’t let us sentient beings suffer for even a split second. We all would have been enlightened eons ago. Unfortunately, it depends on our karma. That is why it is said that the buddhas’ power and sentient beings’ karma are equal.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama says that just praying is not enough; that when we understand karma, we will understand how thick our obscurations are and how much effort we need to put into purifying those obscurations. Don’t think just putting our hands together and saying some words or just sitting in a meditation position is all we need. We need perseverance.

We Need Perseverance to Progress in the Lamrim

The whole of the lamrim, the graduated path to enlightenment taught in Tibetan Buddhism, is thought transformation. Its main purpose is to subdue the mind, to overcome the deluded mind, the desire that clings to the happiness of this life. This is the obstacle that prevents the generation of lamrim realizations within our mind—from the very foundation, guru devotion and perfect human rebirth, through the all-important realizations such as impermanence and emptiness, all the way up to enlightenment. We need to train our mind.

Unless we put effort into training our mind to see that all things are impermanent, changing within every second, the realization of their impermanence will never happen. Seeing things as impermanent doesn’t come from the side of the object; it has to come from our own mind.

If we train our mind to be aware of the impermanent nature of life by contemplating how it changes within each second because of causes and conditions and how death can happen at any moment, we will see how very short our life is and we can overcome our wrong conception of permanence, our fixed idea that we are going to live for a long time.

Just as we must put effort into looking at things as impermanent, we must understand the preciousness of others to overcome our self-cherishing and attain bodhichitta, the mind that wishes to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Bodhichitta is also a dependent arising. Because causative phenomena depend upon causes and conditions, they can be changed and developed. Depending on one set of causes and conditions, our mind is selfish; depending on another set of causes and conditions, that same mind develops bodhichitta.

Similarly, all phenomena are empty by nature, but just knowing this fact is not enough for us to realize emptiness. We have to train our mind to recognize the ignorance that believes in true existence and the objects of this ignorance, the truly existent I and truly existent phenomena that don’t exist. With this knowledge, we then need to persevere, not following this ignorance but rather looking at things as they are, which means as dependent arisings, empty of existence from their own side. In this way, with effort, the realization of emptiness will slowly come.

It is the same with the tantric practice of seeing everything as pure. If this came from the side of the object, it would never happen. Even though we now see ourselves and this place as ordinary, through training our mind in tantric practice, as we achieve realizations of the generation stage and especially during the completion stage, we will gradually come to see everything as pure; we will see ourselves and other beings as deities and the place as a mandala. This pure appearance doesn’t come from the side of the object; it has to come from our side, from our own mind. We have to put effort into training our mind to look at everything as pure.

We Need Perseverance to Develop Concentration

Attaining the stable concentration of shamatha, or calm abiding, leads to the unification of shamatha and great insight, the mind directly realizing emptiness, which is the prerequisite to enlightenment. Only with great perseverance will we be able to completely free ourselves of the disturbing thoughts that are obstacles to having a concentrated mind.

In his commentary